Jerry Wilcox remains "rattled" by the first armed robbery in the history of River Bend Antiques, which he and his business partner Tom Carman founded about 27 years ago, Carman said.

"In a small town, you just don't hear about things like this," Carman said.

A composite sketch of a robbery suspect who stole thousands of dollars worth of jewelry from a Cortland County antique store Friday. The suspect is described as a white middle-aged man with a slender build standing about six feet tall. He has dark brown hair, short scruffy chin hair and was wearing a baseball cap. Courtesy Cortland County Sheriff's Department

Deputies say a man entered River Bend Antiques on Route 11 just after noon, chatted with an employee for a few minutes and pulled out a handgun.

The man then demanded the employee hand over jewelry from a display case, which he did.

The man put the jewelry -- worth between $4,000 and $7,000 -- in a bag and left the store, according to the Cortland County Sheriff's Office.

The robbery suspect is described as a white middle-aged man with a slender build standing about six feet tall. He has dark brown hair, short scruffy chin hair and was wearing a baseball cap.